


It's always been you

by everythingisconnected



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Endgame, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Cuddling & Snuggling, First Kiss, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Nightmares, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-15 17:26:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18674182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everythingisconnected/pseuds/everythingisconnected
Summary: Avengers Endgame fix-it (obviously there's spoilers), because fuck the ending they gave Steve. This is how it actually ended, because Bucky Barnes deserves all the happiness and Steve would never leave him and Sam behind like that.Features a cute dog, and lots of fluff





	It's always been you

**Author's Note:**

> This is my canon now, and the only one I'll accept

_Bucky stood by the quantum machine, beside Sam. He had to stay strong for both of them. Steve had told him his plan; he’d put back all the infinity stones, then he’d go back to see Peggy._

_Bucky had smiled, said it was OK. Even though right now, and through the whole of the conversation, he’d been wanting to just crack, run off into the woods and break down crying. He’d only just gotten his Stevie back, now he had planned to leave him. It all made sense to him, he wasn’t worth it in the end, Steve would never love him back, even their many years of friendship meant nothing to him._

_So when he saw Steve in the distance, as an old man, he wasn’t surprised. Steve had gotten to live his life, without him, and he’d obviously been happier. Good for him, his happiness was the most important thing in Bucky’s life, and he’d chosen to ignore his own because Steve was his best friend._

_Everything around him started to blur into nothing, and all Bucky could hear were his own sobs and screams. Surely Steve wouldn’t leave him and Sam, live his whole life without his two best friends? But it’d happened, and now Bucky’s heart was broken and shredded into a million pieces._

-

“Buck? Hey, wake up, it’s me.”

When Bucky opened his eyes, his vision was blurred by tears. He rolled over and gasped when a face and body started coming into view. His brow furrowed when his vision cleared enough to make out who it was.

“Steve?” Bucky reached out, gently caressing the face before him with his hand. Steve wasn’t an old man, he looked exactly the same as before he went into the quantum machine.

“Nightmare?” Steve gently took Bucky’s hand, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “Want to talk about it?”

Bucky nodded, still very confused. Had he been dreaming? Because it all felt a little too real to be a dream. Steve had left him, and come back looking a lot older than he was right now.

“You’re here,” Bucky clutched onto Steve’s hand, making sure he was real. “You went back in time…”

“Hey, that was two weeks ago,” Steve shook his head fondly. “I’m right here, Buck.”

“You were old when you came back,” Bucky continued, wiping the tears from his eyes on the sleeve of his pyjama shirt. “You’d stayed in the past.”

Steve frowned. “Why would I do that?”

“Peggy,” Bucky said.

Steve sighed, wrapping an arm around Bucky and bringing him closer. He gave a small, nostalgic smile. “Buck, Peggy had her own life. I had a chance with her back then, but life sent us in different directions.”

Bucky allowed himself to smile, burrowing his head into Steve’s chest. He felt Steve gently kissing his hair and already felt himself start to relax. It was only a nightmare, and Steve was here, and he was in the arms of the love of his life.

“I’m never leaving you,” Steve whispered. “Or Sam. We can have a life now, we can let go of the past and be happy.”

Bucky moved so he could look into Steve’s eyes. He was pretty sure he was smiling from ear to ear. 

“I love you,” Bucky said, it really was the easiest thing to say those words to Steve and mean them. He’d gone through so much to make it here, and it’d all been worth it in the end.

“I love you too,” Steve leaned forward, giving Bucky a soft kiss. They both pulled back grinning like idiots. “It’s always been you, Buck.”

Just as Bucky opened his mouth to reply, he almost jumped out of his skin as he felt the presence of something leap up onto the bed. He looked up to be met with the grinning face of their dog, who was sniffing around their legs and moving all over the bed.

“What the hell,” Bucky laughed, turning to Steve as the dog ran over and started to lick his face. “Who let Nat in our room?”

“Sam!” Steve yelled out, but smiling and petting Nat anyway. In a second Sam had peered his head around the door, smirking.

“Didn’t know how else to wake you guys up,” he said. 

Bucky was grinning and holding Nat’s fluffy face in his hands, trying to avoid her darting tongue. “Who’s a good girl?”

“Barnes, I know she’s cute,” Sam said. “But Fury just called. He needs us.”

Bucky sighed, finally paying attention to Sam instead of their dog. “Give us a few minutes? Nat needs me, Fury can wait.”

“It’s urgent, you lazy idiot,” Sam quipped, the shield already on his back. “If you’re not out of bed in five minutes, I’ll eat all your cereal.”

“Fuck you, Sam!” Bucky called out as Sam shut the door, leaving them with a very excited Nat still on the bed.

Bucky sat up, still petting Nat who’d finally lay down on his lap. “I guess I’ll see you later then, Stevie.”

“Duty calls,” Steve smiled back. “If you die, I’ll kill you.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, leaning down to kiss Steve again. “I’m not gonna die, stupid. I’ve got Captain America with me, remember?”

Steve gave him a fond look. “You certainly do.”

-

_2 weeks earlier_

When Steve had left to return the infinity stones, of course Bucky had been worried. Worried that he wouldn’t return, that he’d somehow end up dead along the way and their hug would be the last time he’d get to see his best friend. Sam had given him a reassuring look which calmed him slightly.

What he didn’t expect though, was for Steve to return and instantly give him the tightest hug they’d had in years. Bucky chuckled happily, hugging his best friend back just as tightly.

“We did it, Buck,” Steve pulled back, holding Bucky’s face in his hands. “It’s all over.”

Sam was smiling fondly behind them, as if he knew something.

“I was worried you wouldn’t come back,” Bucky said, leaning into the soft touch. “That you really were gonna take all the stupid with you.”

Steve laughed, rolling his eyes. “I did realise something, maybe I have been stupid for a while.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow, slightly disappointed when Steve removed his hands from his face, but glancing over to Sam. “Both of us already know that.”

Sam grinned in response. 

Steve shook his head. “I’ve been stuck in the past for too long. I never properly moved on.”

Bucky frowned in confusion.

“I’m never gonna get a second chance with Peggy. Recently I thought it might be possible, then I realised…” Steve ran a hand down his face. “It’s not what she’d have wanted. She had her own life, her own husband and family. She’d have wanted me to move on too.”

Bucky turned his gaze down, his heart pounding, not knowing where Steve’s speech was going.

Steve put a hand on Bucky’s shoulder, squeezing gently.

“I have family here. I have…” Steve cleared his throat. “You, Buck. I finally have you back. And I’ve been so stupid and blind that I never noticed… it’s always been you.”

Bucky’s eyes shot up to meet Steve’s. He smiled softly. “What are you trying to say, Steve?”

“I’ve been too caught up with Peggy, I never realised who it was I was really in love with,” Steve looked away, cheeks going red.

A smile lit up Bucky’s face, as he put a hand over Steve’s reassuringly. 

“I love you,” Steve finally said. “I think I always have, deep down. I’d do anything for you.”

Bucky bit his lip to stop the tears from coming. This was all he’d ever dreamt of.

“Steve you idiot, I love you too,” Bucky smiled up through glassy eyes. “You’ll always be my little guy from Brooklyn, who was too dumb not to run away from a fight.”

Steve chuckled, finally leaning in, taking Bucky’s face in his hands, and pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

Bucky smiled, taking the back of Steve’s head and pressing their lips together. 

He felt Steve gasp, but instantly relax into their kiss. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders, his heart was finally full. Here he was, getting to kiss the guy he was in love with. They’d gotten through it, together.

“Guys,” Sam called from behind them after a few minutes of heated kisses. “I’m still here!”

They broke apart, both flustered and giggling messes. Steve leaned down to give Bucky another soft kiss before turning towards Sam.

“I’ll be back in a minute, Buck,” he said. “There’s something I’ve got to do first.”


End file.
